Fortitude
by Dhot
Summary: Ares thinks lowly of Gabriel, or does he? Gabriel thinks that Ares is a pig, is he?


_Disclaimer: I don't own the series ok:D _

Gabriel sighed. It was such a boring day. Xena and herself made camp at the edge of a riverbed. They were having a good time, eating and reminiscing about the good old times when Hercules and Ares showed up!

They spouted something about Hera becoming mad and going around killing Gods. Like as if Gabriel would care if all the Gods got killed. Anyway, it wouldn't have been so bad if she had followed but Xena didn't want Gabriel along.

"Hercules and I can do this alone!" she had claimed. Ha! Hercules. Most likely, she wanted to be alone with him, to whisper sweet nothings. Gabriel chided herself for thinking this way about her best friend.

She composed herself but the scowl came back almost immediately. At least they could have left her alone, but no, they had told Ares to stay behind to take care of Gabriel. She had just recovered from food poisoning and might not be in full form should enemies attack, what a lame excuse!

She looked over at Ares and noticed that he wore the same scowl on his face. Immediately, her features softened. Ares was the God of War, he must be feeling useless right now.

She thought of ways to cheer him up but stopped. Why should I do anything for him! she thought, but one look at his dark, handsome face and she changed her mind. No one could ever claim that Gabby wasn't sweet enough.

'Maybe I should get him to run about somehow, to get those juices flowing,' she thought to herself. Her gaze dropped to his sword. 'Maybe if I grab it and run, he might come after it. That way he can get some exercise' she thought brightly.

Slowly she stood up and crept towards him. Ares was so deep in thought, probably dreaming up ways and means to get back at Xena and Hercules, that he did not notice Gabriel approaching him stealthily.

In a second, she snatched his favorite sword and ran at full speed. Ares was knocked out of his reverie. He saw Gabriel running away with his sword and anger built up within him. He yelled and started running after her.

'How dare she snatch my sword?' he bellowed in his mind.

He blinked out and appeared in front of her, ready to strike her down. Gabriel gasped as she crashed right into him, causing the both of them to fall right onto the riverbed.

Gabriel landed on top of Ares, her hands splaying over his chest. The sword seemed lost and forgotten as they both gaped at each other, eyes twinkling with excitement. They tried to get up but the slippery riverbed caused them to fall clumsily again, this time with Ares on top.

He stared right into Gabriel's beautiful eyes and wondered to himself, 'Why have I never noticed what a beautiful woman Gabriel is.' Somehow, something pulled him towards her lips. Gabriel closed her eyes as Ares' wet lips grazed hers.

She parted her lips slightly, allowing Ares' tongue to find hers. She felt a slight fluttering within her stomach as the God kissed her.

He pulled away, obviously confused at what he had just done. Gabriel took this as a sign and tried to get up. She let out a yelp as she stood on her ankle.

It was obviously fractured. "What happened?" Ares asked, his voice laced with concern. "I… I think I sprained my ankle. It hurts," she managed to say.

Without another word, Ares carried her in his strong arms and walked back to camp. He sat her down on a large rock and proceeded to check her ankle. He lifted her left leg and a shudder passed through her body as the God made physical contact with her skin.

" Just look at that black, curly hair! Those… dark... good looks, that to-die-for physique! Ok, I am way off track! Back to your senses, Gabby!' she mentally scolded herself.

"Owww!" she cried out as Ares fixed the broken bone back in place. "What did you do that for!" Gabriel screamed.

"Well, I needed to fix your ankle, didn't I?" he asked innocently. "You can heal, Ares!" Gabriel shouted in frustration.

"Yeah well, I figured that I could conserve my energy than to fix your boo-boo," he said playfully. Gabriel rolled her eyes and stood up.

"Easy there, I just fixed it!" Ares scolded. Gabriel just gave him a pointed stare.

"Where are they?" Gabriel asked herself as she paced up and down the camp. "They'll be here, after they do their thing," Ares replied nonchalantly.

"You know, Ares, I'm fine now so you can just leave and attend to your other godly things!" Gabriel said in exasperation.

"Hey! I like your company! I'm thinking I should stay here with you till they come back," Ares said, with an evil grin.

Gabriel sighed in exasperation on the outside but was delighted on the inside. This was the answer she wanted to hear. Her thoughts drifted to the afternoon when Ares had kissed her.

"I probably don't have a chance, him being a God and all. Hera hates me and Zeus doesn't think highly of me.

They would probably flip if I married Ares. That is, if Ares wants to be married. I don't think such an egoistic, chauvinistic God would want to have anything to do with a frail and weak mortal like me," she thought to herself.

"What's up with Xena and Hercules?" Ares thought to himself. He was about to voice out the question loud but stopped when he saw Gabriel's slumped silhouette.

He took in her beauty and watched with fascination as the campfire reflected the light on her face, making her look even more angelic.

Of course, it was an added bonus that she had a great figure too. Ares shook his head. 'What in the world am I thinking? She's Gabriel!' he thought to himself. 'And that's a problem?' his alter ego countered.

'Of course! Gods don't go for mortals!' he insisted. 'Love sees no boundaries,' his alter ego said. "Alright Aphrodite, you can stop playing with my head now. Come out where I can see you!" Ares called out.

"Aww shucks, you had to spoil all the fun, didn't you," Aphrodite said as she materialized in front of him. "Not so loud, she might wake up!" Ares hissed. "Don't worry, Bro, I blew some sleeping dust on her. She's out cold," Aphrodite said, apparently proud of herself.

"I hope you're not thinking of making her your new pet project, are you?" Ares asked warily, aware of his sister's capabilities.

"On the contrary, I have made it my mission to find Gabriel a partner!" she said with confidence. "Well good luck then, sister. I don't know who would even fall in love with someone like her," Ares told Aphrodite.

"You'll see, Ares, you'll see and then I'll make sure that you eat your own words in front of me!" Aphrodite rebuked haughtily. Ares snorted and was about to retort when Aphrodite blinked away.

_A/N: Been years since I last watched Xena but thought why not try writing some fiction:D Hopefully, you like it.. Reviews will be very much appreciated. Thanks._


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